New roles for the industry’s movers and shakers
Ministry of Tourism, India
In a recent development, the government has announced appointments of several top level officials. As part of this, IAS officer Rashmi Verma has been appointed as the new secretary of Ministry of Tourism. Prior to this, Verma served as the secretary of Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. Verma has replaced N K Sinha who was given additional charge as secretary of tourism.
Etihad Aviation Group
Etihad Aviation Group has recently announced the appointment of Robin Kamark as chief executive officer, Airline Equity Partners. Kamark will be responsible for leading and developing the group’s minority equity investment strategy, which includes stakes in Airberlin, Alitalia, Jet Airways, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Etihad Regional and Virgin Australia. Kamark’s 17 years’ experience includes a range of strategy, commercial and general manager roles at SAS Group. For the last five years, he has been executive vice president and chief commercial officer of Storebrand ASA, a Nordic financial services business.
Fiji Airways
Fiji Airways has appointed industry veteran, Marc Cavaliere, as chief marketing officer. Cavaliere joins the airline’s executive leadership team, reporting directly to the CEO, and will be responsible for the new, dedicated global airline alliances and partnerships, as well as all sales channels, marketing activities, and related commercial functions. Cavaliere’s professional background includes 37 years of airline industry experience, with extensive international assignments, leading airlines in various regions of the world including the United States. His key areas of expertise include commercial strategy, marketing, sales management, e-commerce, distribution and collaborative tourism development.
American Airlines
American Airlines has promoted Patrick O’Keeffe to the position of senior vice president-People. O’Keeffe most recently served as vice president – Information Technology and has held a wide range of leadership positions across the airline during his more than 28 years at American. In his new role, O’Keeffe will lead the global human resources team responsible for talent acquisition and development, team member training and support, compensation, benefits, and diversity. O’Keeffe began his career at American in the market planning department and then assumed a number of leadership roles in numerous departments including sales planning, customer research, onboard service, and food and beverage.
Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas
Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas recently announced the appointments of two new general managers in Sri Lanka. Giles Selves was announced as the area general manager overseeing Anantara Peace Haven Tangalle Resort, Anantara Kalutara Resort and AVANI Kalutara Resort. Selves joined the luxury brand in August 2015 as general manager for Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas & Anantara Vacation Club Phuket in Thailand. His strong career in food and beverage included roles as F&B manager at The Westin Turnberry Resort in Scotland and the director of Restaurant and Bar Development for Starwood Hotels & Resorts in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Whereas, Ross Sanders has been announced as the general manager of Aantara Peace Haven Tangalle Resort. He brings to the role 13 years of experience in the hospitality industry. He started his hotel career as a guest relations manager at Pangkor Laut Resort, Perak, Malaysia.
Hyatt Regency Delhi
Hyatt Regency Delhi has recently announced the appointment of Rohit Srivastava as director of F&B. With 14 years of experience in hospitality industry, Srivastava has worked with The Oberoi Rajvilas at various positions and is with Hyatt Regency Delhi since nine years. His career began with The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur in 2003 and his experience varies in business development, operations, cost management etc. Under the new role, Srivastava will leverage and enhance the ongoing and future work of the hotel.
JW Marriott Pune
Debarati Bose has been appointed as the director of sales and marketing for JW Marriott Pune. Under this role, Bose will be spear heading responsibilities such as setting annual budgets, forecasting, analysing revenue reports and strategy building to increase the hotel’s revenue and the banquet sales, amongst others.
In another announcement, Aparajita Das has been appointed as director of services of the hotel. In her new role, she will be responsible for maintaining high standards of cleanliness and aesthetics at the hotel as well as developing new systems and procedures for overall process efficiency.